Acting Up – Episode #39: O-T Fagbenle

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The Snapshot:  O-T Fagbenle plays a self-destructive, washed-up boyband member dead-set on relaunching his career in the British comedy series, Maxxx. (Streaming on Hulu as of July 28th.)
The Performer:  O-T Fagbenle
The Series:  Maxxx
 
The Performance: 
From pulling a Kanye West/Taylor Swift mic heist at a funeral to hitting on a sex addict in a sex-addict support group, Maxxx is the kind of person – and series – that induces serious cringe.
Having premiered on the U.K.’s Channel 4 before hitting the States, the six-episode series revolves around former boyband sensation Maxxx (played by show creator O-T Fagbenle), a past-his-prime narcissist who wants things from a world that has long since forgotten him. 
Upon first glimpse, the series reminds of other projects involving man-child pop stars clinging to the bottom rung a la Andy Samberg in Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. But Maxxx hits new rungs of low as a mildly talented, 40-something pill popper who adopted a teenage orphan because it was the trendy thing do. He also never recovered from a breakup with his supermodel ex, Jourdan (Jourdan Dunn), whose fame factor has well eclipsed his own to Maxxx’s chagrin.
In early episodes, Maxxx is someone who will do pretty much anything to be relevant again. This desperation reveals itself early on when Maxxx pleads with his eccentric former music manager (Christopher Meloni) for a new deal in exchange for a favor. The favor? He’s asked to participate in a threesome with the producer, his wife and a large sex toy named Jack Reacher. 
It’s a comical scene that shows just how far Maxxx will go to land a contract. 
But once you get to episode three, we realize there’s more to Maxxx than meets the eye. That’s where you realize Fagbenle can act and his character is more than mere sideshow freak fodder. 
Thanks to inspiration from his manager Tamzin (Pippa Bennett-Warner), who does her best to encourage his artistry and keep him inline, we slowly see Maxxx’s humanity begin to unfold.
It’s through this prism that Maxxx becomes empathetic as more than a spectacular failure – to Fagbenle’s credit – by working on art that’s actually worthy of being consumed. Not that anybody wants to hear it since his reputation as pure dumpster fire precedes him in a world full of tinder.
Overall, Fagbenle does an impressive job bringing to life a career on life support. Someone who vaults from self-destructive to redeeming character in a few short  – maybe too short – episodes.
That’s where the show thrives – in the human moments – when Fagbenle’s abilities and musical talents pull Maxxx off in amusing fashion. It makes Maxxx worth the quick time-investment you’ll need to consume the six-episode series in one prolonged quarantine helping.  
 
The Career:
There’s a saying in Hollywood about how if the role you want doesn’t exist, write it yourself. 
In that regard, in creating Maxxx, the 39-year-old British actor set out to do something that would both diverge from the roles he was being offered – and appeal to the actor’s diverse skill set. 
Born in London (and raised in London, Spain and Nigeria), Fagbenle started out in music at an early age playing the saxophone in various bands across Europe. Soon after landing his first proper role in Macbeth at 16, he graduated from the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts before playing a slew of theater parts. This led to winning a M.E.N. Theatre award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role in the Tony-Award nominated Six Degrees of Separation.
But it’s his role in Hulu’s Emmy-winning drama series The Handmaid’s Tale (2017-2019) that Fagbenle is most well-known for. That’s where he plays Luke Bankole, June Osborne’s (Elisabeth Moss) husband from the previous unrepressed world and the beating heart of many gut-wrenching family flashbacks. 
Prior to that, you may’ve seen the talented Brit in both the series and film version of Looking (2015-2016) on HBO – and in other film/TV projects including lead roles in two flagship series in the U.K.: Harlan Coben’s The Five (2016) on Netflix and The Interceptor (2015) on BBC.
As for what’s coming, the world awaits Fagbenle’s appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Black Widow (2020), where he co-stars alongside Scarlett Johansson in a film that was originally slated for a May 2020 release but has since pushed to a November 2020 release.
Notably, on being an African American in an industry starving for greater diversity in the ranks, Fagbenle recently told Variety, “I routinely play ‘Spot the black person’ when I go on set… The numbers of Black writers, directors and people behind the camera is way below what is commensurate with a demographic of America or England. And there’s no excuse for that.”
 
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Acting Up – Episode #38: Natalia Dyer
Acting Up – Episode #36: Delroy Lindo
Acting Up – Episode #37: Harry Lloyd

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Gregg Rosenzweig has been a writer, creative director and managing editor for various entertainment clients, ad agencies and digital media companies over the past 20 years. He is also a partner in the talent management/production company, The Rosenzweig Group.